Cash support for innovative Fleetwood Beach Wheelchair project

The well used Fleetwood Beach Wheelchair service received a welcome boost to its funds when organisers were handed a cheque for £460 from the town’s ASDA store.

The service allows disabled people full access to the beach thanks to the special design of the chairs, which have fat, all terrain tyres and greater manoeuvrability which make it much easier to push a relative over sand and pebbles - and they can even float in the water.

Earlier this year the team were celebrating after the project was given a Lancashire Tourism Awards accolade for accessibility and exclusivity.

The latest cash support from Asda was raised as part of the store’s ‘Empowering Local Communities’ grants which focus on local the needs of local organisations and initiatives.

The cheque was presented by David Nuttall, Asda’s Community Champion representing the Fleetwood store.

David said: ‘It’s my pleasure as Community Champion at Asda to present this cheque to Fleetwood Beach Wheelchairs.

"It is in support of their sterling work for Fleetwood and the community.”

Mick Gray, chairman of Fleetwood Beach Wheelchairs project, based on Fleetwood seafront close to the Marine Hall, said: "This is a wonderfully generous gesture which we really do appreciate.

"The funds will be used to provide additional support equipment for the base.

"We are a charity which offers this service free of charge, so this kind of support is vital.”

The Fleetwood scheme was Mick’s brainchild.

A long-time Rotarian, he had noticed that families with a wheelchair-user often had to leave them on the pavement overlooking the beach while they enjoyed walking on the sand and running into the sea.

While normal wheelchairs cannot cope with the sand and pebbles on the beach, the remarkable tyres of this project find it no problem.

He was inspired after seeing a similar project in Scotland and felt sure it could work not only in Fleetwood but across the whole of the Fylde coast, provided there was the required funding to set the project up.

Backed by a £7,836 grant from Fleetwood Town Council and an earlier donation of £2,500 by Fleetwood Rotary Club, the project was able to become a registered charity two-and-a-half years ago and is run by volunteers.

Although the scheme was not initially as active as hoped because of the Covid pandemic over the past two years, Mick said it had come into its own now that it was up and running.

He praised volunteers for making the scheme possible and said of the award earlier this year: “We were thrilled to get that recognition for all our volunteers do in making our beach accessible for people with disabilities.”

Although the service is free to use, funding is always needed to pay the rent on the base, insurance, administration costs and repair and maintenance of the 10 wheelchairs, and the project relies on donations.

That’s why the support from Asda proved so welcome to Mick and his team.

For more information, visit: https://www.fleetwoodbeachwheelchairs.co.uk